Restoration work at England's Canterbury Cathedral has uncovered oak roof rafters dating to the time of William the Conqueror. While much of the cathedral's roof has been destroyed and rebuilt over the centuries, some of the 11th century timbers survive.

In the mid-16th century, Thomas Cromwell, King Henry VIII's vicar-general, began the collecting of London parish records. Now 18 million of these records will be available on the ancestry.co.uk website.

Historians have long held that Richard III was killed at Bosworth field in retribution for his slaying of his nephews, the young, rightful heirs, but new evidence may show a different motive: a decade-old power struggle between Richard and William Stanley.